Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2025
Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging at 7 Tesla
Published on: January 6, 2019
Accurate diagnosis of ischemic heart disease without exposure to radiation using non-stress unshielded
Kirsten Tolstrup1, Massoud Akhtari2, Donatella Brisinda3
1UCSF Medical Center, Division of Cardiology, San Francisco, USA.
Insights
Magnetocardiography (MCG) accurately identifies ischemic chest pain, showing 86% sensitivity and 80% specificity. This rapid, risk-free method offers results comparable to stress SPECT for diagnosing chest pain.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Chest pain is a common symptom with diverse etiologies, necessitating accurate diagnostic tools.
- Distinguishing ischemic from non-ischemic chest pain is crucial for timely and appropriate patient management.
- Current diagnostic modalities may involve radiation or contrast agents, posing potential risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the diagnostic capability of magnetocardiography (MCG) in differentiating ischemic from non-ischemic chest pain.
- To evaluate the accuracy of MCG in identifying patients with ischemic chest pain.
- To confirm the normalcy of MCG findings in healthy individuals.
Main Methods:
- 133 patients with chest pain syndromes and 63 healthy subjects were studied using unshielded cryogenically cooled MCG systems.
- MCG scans were performed in a general clinical setting with scan times ranging from 90 seconds to 6 minutes.
- Automated analysis software processed MCG data, providing immediate results.
Main Results:
- Resting MCG was normal in all healthy subjects.
- An abnormal resting MCG was significantly associated with ischemic chest pain (p < 0.0001).
- MCG demonstrated 86% sensitivity, 80% specificity, 75% PPV, and 89% NPV for ischemic chest pain, comparable to stress SPECT.
Conclusions:
- Resting MCG is a rapid and risk-free diagnostic method for detecting ischemic chest pain.
- MCG eliminates the need for radiation or contrast agents in chest pain evaluation.
- The diagnostic performance of MCG is comparable to that of stress SPECT.
Study Objectives:
To evaluate the capability and accuracy of magnetocardiography (MCG) to identify patients with ischemic chest pain from those with non-ischemic pain and to verify normalcy in the MCG in healthy subjects.
Design:
We studied 133 patients (mean age 59 ± 14 years, 69 % male) with chronic or acute chest pain syndrome and 63 healthy subjects (mean age 41.7 ± 12.2 years, 51 % male) using unshielded cryogenically cooled MCG systems (Cardiomag Imaging Inc., 9 and 36 channels) in a general clinical setting. Scan time was 90 s to 6 min. Interventions: The MCG data were processed with the same automated analysis software and results were immediately available. All patients were chest pain free at the time of scanning.
Results:
A diagnosis of ischemic chest pain was established in 41 % after non-invasive and invasive testing. Rest MCG was normal in all healthy subjects. An abnormal rest MCG was strongly associated with ischemic chest pain, p < 0.0001 (sensitivity of 86 %, specificity of 80 %, positive (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of 75 % and 89 %, respectively). In comparison, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of stress SPECT was 93 %, 72 %, 77 % and 91 %, respectively.
Conclusion:
Resting MCG is a rapid risk-free method for the detection of ischemic chest pain without the use of radiation or contrast with results comparable with stress SPECT.
More Related Videos
10:17Real-Time Cardiac Mapping with a Noninvasive Imageless Electrocardiographic Imaging System
Published on: April 11, 2025
11:13Quantification of Mouse Heart Left Ventricular Function, Myocardial Strain, and Hemodynamic Forces by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: May 24, 2021
Related Concept Videos
01:20Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System III: X-Ray
Definition and Purpose
An X-ray, or radiograph, is a non-invasive method that uses ionizing radiation to take images of internal structures. It is mainly used in cardiac imaging to examine the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels, aiming to identify abnormalities in the heart's size, shape, and position, such as heart failure, congenital defects, and vascular...
01:24Magnetic Resonance Imaging
01:17Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System I:Echocardiography
Indications: Echocardiography is utilized to diagnose heart failure, valve disorders, and myocardial infarction. It also assesses cardiac structures' size, shape, and motion,...
01:20Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System II:Types of Echocardiography
Types of Echocardiography
Transthoracic Echocardiography (TTE)
TTE is the most common type of echocardiogram which involves placing a transducer on the patient's chest, emitting sound waves to create heart images. TTE is invaluable for evaluating the heart's size, structure, and motion, making it particularly useful for...
01:26Exercise Stress Test
Exercise stress testing, commonly known as a treadmill test, is a noninvasive procedure used to evaluate cardiovascular function and diagnose heart conditions.
Definition
An exercise stress test measures the heart's response to exertion using a treadmill or stationary bicycle. Chest electrodes record the heart's electrical activity through an ECG, and blood pressure is monitored regularly.
Purposes